


The Cover of Night

by orphan_account



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Pre-Slash, merman au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-30
Updated: 2013-06-30
Packaged: 2017-12-16 15:56:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/863856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A small drabble wherein James Kirk is a sailor and Bones is a mysterious mer-creature following his ship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cover of Night

**Author's Note:**

> This idea was born based on an AU prompt someone wrote on tumblr (i think), I couldn't find it again when I looked but if I'll do I'll let you guys know where the promp originated. Enjoy!

James is sure he’s seen it. Seen the bright blue shimmer against the clarity of the Atlantic Ocean, he knows he’s seen where scales meet tanned skin. At first he believed his eyes had mistaken him, thought, perhaps, that he was suffering from hallucinations brought on by dehydration. But he is convinced now as he looks out onto the night’s horizon, watches the spread of a beautiful tail as it heaves out of the water; this _thing_ is unlike any fish James has ever seen. He thinks back to the whispers he heard as a child, tales of mermen and women, with the body of a human and the tail of a fish. As a child James thought these creatures quite curious beings, how could a fish and a person mix in such a way? Now these whispers have become truth and a spark of interest is lit within his stomach. But fear is mingled there also. The whispers spoke of creatures that lured sailors to their deaths and brought storms to sink ships.

This creature, if it is indeed merfolk, has not brought foul weather, nor has it brought death to any of the sailors. James wonders how something so beautiful could be deemed so dangerous. He leans further forward; trying to bridge the space between them, but the tail startles in the water and vanishes. James questions why it does not want its presence to be known; perhaps it does have some evil trickery yet to play.

James sees a glimpse of a fin or the taught shape of a shoulder most evenings when he watches. He hasn’t told the crew what he has seen yet, doesn’t know how he will prove the existence of a myth to men of God. And why does this creature continue to follow them? James wonders if it is able to speak or whether its language is confined to the body. Tonight it dares to come closer than it has before and James can make out the dark tresses of hair that fall over its eyes. Its gaze meets James’ for only a second before it ducks back into the cover of its ocean.

 

“Have you ever seen a merman?” He asks Scotty the next morning.

“Ne’er seen one myself.” He shrugs, pulling at some rope. “But I had a mate who used to sail round ol’ Britannia, said he met one once, he said that if a mermaid falls in love with a man she’s destined to follow his ship for eternity, even after he’s long dead. They are bound to the ship just like he once was. If you believe all that codswallop. He was a ravin’ alcoholic was my mate.”

“Huh.” James nods. “Codswallop.”

“Why’d you ask?” Scotty questions.

“Thought I saw something in the water last night.” James admits.

“Must be the scurvy rottin’ your little brain, Jimmy boy.” Scotty barks out a laugh before returning to the rafters.

"Yes, must be." 

James feels compelled to return to the deck that evening, hoping against his better judgement that the merman will be there. He wonders how long this creature has followed _The Enterprise_ , wonders what soul it chases after night after night. What a lonely life this creature must lead. James sits down and slips his legs in between the railing, an ineffable need to be closer. It overwhelms him, encompasses him, and James can’t help but think that perhaps he is being lured by it, that perhaps it will be the death of him.

The merman smiles at him, James cannot make out the colour of his eyes. They only reflect the black of the night sky and James feels lost in them. James is also confronted with full, pouty lips, parted in a confused ‘o’. Perhaps the creature wishes to speak but cannot. Perhaps James confuses it just as much as it confuses him. James starts to speak but the deep husk of his throat must scare the creature and he dives below once more. James calls out but it’s useless.

Many days later _His Majesty’s Trading_ ship is ransacked by pirates. James, as captain, bargains the safe passage of his crew. They will be marooned on an island somewhere in the Atlantic, while James, spectacularly lucky James Kirk, will be forced to walk the plank and hope to God he’s as good a swimmer as he thinks he is.

“You better pray to your patron saint, or your guardian angel.” One of the pirates jeers. James thinks about his merman. He dives off the plank and swims, he doesn’t know where he’s swimming to or where he’ll end up but he swims none the less. The water is calm in the midday sun but he knows how quickly things can turn tempestuous. He needs to find a rock or a cavern or something, a piece of drift wood even. He won’t survive this heat without water and he’s already so tired. Bone weary from spending his nights watching his merman. He swims for about an hour, maybe two but exhaustion overcomes him, he can feel his eyes closing. He tries to fight it. His world fades to black as he slips under the oceans waves.

 

It would appear he’s not dead; he’s too cold to be in hell and too bruised feeling to be in heaven. He can hear the faint lapping of waves against rock and slowly rises himself onto his elbows, one of his feet is still dangling in the ocean but it looks as if he is in a cavern of some sort, a cavern that extends deep down into the dark depths of the waters but has a rocky platform that is raised above sea level. The merman is lent on the cavern floor, tail still in the water, watching James in silence. James notes an open cut along his own chest and the way in which it has been filled with a herb of some sort and bound lightly with cloth. Did the merman do this? Save him? Close as they are now James can see more clearly that the merman’s eyes are, in fact, a golden honey colour, mixed with flecks of both murky and vibrant greens. He is beautiful, there is almost an ethereal glow to his tanned skin and James cautiously reaches out to brush his fingers against the creature’s shoulder.

The merman forgoes breathing through his mouth for a moment, affectively stopping the rise and fall of his chest. James draws back immediately, not wanting to cause the creature discomfort, but winces when he disturbs his own bruised and battered body. The creature has deep lacerations of his own that run over his neck, and James reasons they must act as gills. The creature is so still and so quiet that James doesn’t know what next to do, he looks about his surroundings noting the mound of fish bones that lay around his body, it is unsettling but perhaps a custom of his kind.

“Bones?” James questions, picking his hand through some. The creature smiles and then frowns and then pouts, clearly understanding James’s discontent with being lain across a heap of bones. James clambers closer to the merman to reassure him that the sentiment is much appreciated regardless of whether it frightens him some.

“I’m James Kirk.” He says softly, mindful not to touch the creature for that seems to upset him.

The merman nods but does not reply. The look in his eyes tells James he already knew that. How, James doesn’t know. Perhaps he is the man this creature has fallen in love with, that is why he followed _The Enterprise_ , and that is why he saved James.

“What should I do?” James asks, not expecting and answer. Then the creature’s tail moves out of the water, swiping in the air slightly to dry away the excess water, the tail is much bigger this close up and James marvels at how powerful it looks. It is muscular under the scales and could conceivably be used as a dangerous weapon. But as it draws closer to James he doesn’t fear being harmed, he lays back down slightly, body facing towards his merman and the end of the tail, soft and light as cotton, if only a little damp, comes to rest over him like a blanket, warming him instantly.

“Sleep.” The merman whispers. His voice is deeper than James would have imagined, gravelly like sand and husked like the soft night winds of the ocean. “You are safe with me, James.” 


End file.
